David Wieland

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:
The Lee Valley digger is clearly labelled as "not suitable for clay soils." I've looked at them at LV and they don't seem strong enough for my uses.

If that digger isn't strong enough for you, you must be aiming to dig into unworked clay, which is likely what the LV disclaimer means. I consider that to be a pickaxe job! What root crops can grow in clay?

Have you considered getting a local welder to fabricate a digger to your specs? Thekla's observation about the angle between the handles and tines is relevant. I find the LV design to be optimal for my arm length, allowing me to stand on the crossbar to drive the tines in while holding the handgrips and then prying the soil loose when I pull the handles back and down. The catalog pictures don't show it, but if the soil is tight I stand (or even jump) on the crossbar with both feet.  A design with only 3 or 4 tines would have even more soil ripping power.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Hey guys, help me out. Dear Wife has Amazon Prime shipping, ending tomorrow.

I came across this reasonably priced broadfork and it *seems* like what I've been trying to find for a long time.

I'll be using it in both sandy and clay soils (esp. harvesting root veg in the clay). It looks tough enough to do the job.

What do you think? Worth buying?

It doesn't look as hefty as the one from Lee Valley that I noted last year, but it's less than half the price and looks sturdy enough for previously loosened soil.

I'm surprised by the topic title, because musicians have long prized old instruments of high quality. Stradivarius died long ago, but many of his violins live on. Besides, speaking as an 80-year-old, a century-old instrument doesn't seem all that old!

I think constant stirring is essential for a uniform roast, which is why coffee roasting machines use either a rotating drum or air blast (for very small batches). I've used both kinds successfully, but they had disappointingly short lifespans, even including repairs. By the time my second Gene Cafe drum roaster quit working reliably, Costco was carrying my favoured Sumatra bean roasted to the degree my wife and I like, so I gave up roasting. Our conical burr grinder was a very modest cost and has been reliable, needing only burr replacement after grinding a bean-sized stone, quite the opposite of my roaster experience.

The simplest and most reliable way I have found to germinate seeds and/or test viability is Robert Pavlis' baggie method (https://youtu.be/RgkXUSI1GWo).

Timothy Norton wrote:
I'd love to have something reusable instead of single use however. Maybe I am missing something?  

Is something I compost really single-use? I think it's getting well and truly recycled, with eager help from worms, insects, and microbes.

Carla Burke wrote:I use cloth, exclusively. Mostly made by me & flannel. I have allergies, and respiratory issues that leave my poor nose painful and looking red, swollen, and irritated, if I use paper. If things get to the 'hazmat' stage, I'll either give them a soak in peroxide or boil them, before washing.

I had childhood allergies that resulted in some asthma and frequent nasal "discharge", the latter being lifelong. I remember going to first grade with a pocket full of folded paper tissues that were all used by the end of the day. For the next few years, my mother sent me to school with a couple of cloth handkerchiefs. They were certainly more durable, even when well-used, but they didn't irritate my nose any less. I haven't used them since and find that two-ply tissues aren't irritating but are very compostable. Switching from carrying them in a jeans pocket to a shirt pocket helps them last longer and even dry a bit between uses sometimes.

r ransom wrote:It's not that the error happens in the same place. It can happen anywhere in the exercise.  Even the first note.  

That happens to non-dyslexics too, so I wouldn't get too worked up about that issue.

Regarding your overall practice and development, I wonder if you ever try playing a short passage by ear, paying more attention to the musical sounds you're making than whether you're precisely following the instruction. Taking a freer approach occasionally might give your brain a rest while your fingers still get helpful exercise and practice with touch.

M Ljin wrote:This could go for ukulele or guitar or any string instrument with multiple strings—

The standard music notation system that you're using is independent of instrument and applies to wind instruments as much as strings. If you were looking at tablature for this passage, it would show a fretting shift. Exactly how that is performed is the player's choice, within the physical limits of body mechanics and the instrument design. Most of us look for the easiest, least stressful way (considering that playing an instrument isn't supposed to be an athletic event 🙂).

The sharps or flats in the key signature apply to all octaves unless overridden in a measure. You can think of those in the key signature as implicit -- just a way to simplify the notation.

It's been decades since I kept bees, but no book or beekeeper I consulted recommended such insulation. As another poster mentioned, some ventilation is necessary. Excess moisture is to be avoided. Shelter of some kind that protects them from bitterly cold wind is useful, but normal hives are weatherproof. Consider that wild bees survive winter cold without special treatment.